Sins of the Father
by Heart of PureSilver
Summary: Sequel to DwtD. "You know those stories where a character is whisked away into another world and becomes an almighty force of good? This isn't one of them. Sixteen years of inquiring about my absent father has led to me and a good friend being thrown into the fray of a war that he started. The best part? It doesn't get any better from there." M for language, implied themes, blood
1. My Life

Hey there, oh _wonderful_ people of the internet and the creepers who secretly hide among you. Oh _man_, do I have a tale for you. Now before you think this is just another silly fanfiction on the internet, think again.

What? Skip the bullshit and just tell us the details about what the hell happened in the epilogue of the last story?

_Fine_.

So, the last story was about a normal woman from everyday reality finding her significant other in a mass murdering ninja from an alternate dimension. In the end, Mr. Ninja went back home to his dimension while the woman stayed in reality. Blah blah blah, like I really need to say more than that. You read that story already; otherwise you wouldn't be reading this one now, would you?

Now…before he left, that ninja left the woman with something. A gift and a burden at the same time: a child. The woman raised that child alone, doing her best to hide anything regarding his father from others. Despite her best efforts, the child continued wishing to meet his dad one day. Little did he know that he'd get that wish after years of waiting.

This tale is about that child and how that child met the father he never knew. More specifically, it's a tale about me. Izuna Matthew Price. Actually, it's Izuna Uchiha now, but you get my point.

Just when you think your life has hit absolute rock bottom, the universe has a way to mindfuck you at the last minute and turn things around just before you make the biggest mistake of your life.

And it all started with a typical Monday morning…

* * *

The blaring noise of the alarm clock echoed through the room. How I hated that damn thing. Alarm clock, you shall perish one day by my hands; _that_ I assure you. I fumbled around a bit, trying to find the off button in my drowsy state. I eventually settled on ripping the cord out of the wall outlet since I was too aggravated to bother with the noisemaker from Hell. I had no desire to get out of my bed. I wanted to lie under my covers all day.

Nope. Couldn't do that. Mom would murder me if I skipped school.

Screw the public education system and everyone who believes it "heightens the minds of the young 'uns". It was a societal torture device fabricated by underpaid workers who had nothing else better to do with their lives than make students miserable. If school has taught me anything, it's that people are intrinsically cruel no matter their age.

I grudgingly sat up, my hair getting into my eyes again. I groaned, parting the locks behind my ears. I continuously questioned why I kept it as long as it was. Somewhere in my soul, it felt right to have it grow long. Unfortunately, my peers thought otherwise. I was the butt of many "girly" jokes and pranks because of the length of my hair and for other reasons. I still remember the first day of freshman year. My old classmates from junior high had decided it'd be fun to shear my mane down to size. My mother threw a hysterical fit when I got back home that day. I didn't blame her. If my best friend went to school with mid-back length hair and came back nearly bald, I'd freak too; just not to the extent that she did.

I toyed with a strand, staring it down. I was partially grateful my hair grew fast, but I tried to not let it get as long as before. I didn't want a repeat of Mom panicking over me again. She had enough problems. Being unmarried and a single mother was just a recipe for gossip and rumors for the fairer sex. If girls thought guys treated others horribly, they're a bunch of lying hypocrites. Girls are ten times worse to each other than we men are, hence why I stayed far away from those creatures of hideous natures.

I made my slow start to the morning. I took off my pajamas and threw on a pair of dirty clothes since I was too lazy to open my drawers. Besides, I only wore that particular outfit once that week. I doubted the red t-shirt and blue jeans would smell that bad. Once that was done, I quickly ran my fingers through my hair to fish out all the tangles. It was almost always messy whether I brushed it or not, so I simply didn't bother with it. After that was done, I skipped the rest of my morning routine. I was in no mood to brush my teeth, make my bed, or even eat breakfast. I lumbered down the stairs, making a bunch of noise in the process. My mother was at the kitchen table eating eggs and bacon for breakfast. I sat down across from her to wait for my inevitable journey on the yellow vehicle of doom.

I dreaded going to school that day. Actually, I always dreaded going to school no matter what weekday it was. It was the place that made my already evident differences stand out even more than they needed to be. No one had natural blue-tinted, gravity-defying spiky black hair. No guy liked to grow his hair out unless he was gay or transgender. None of the things I wore were the "style" of the current generation. I was an outcast and everyone spit upon the existence of bastards.

I knew people threw that term around like it was nobody's business, but I took offense to it. I _was_ a bastard: a child born from unmarried parents. The worst part? I had no idea who my father was. I mean…I knew what he looked like, but I never got a name. Mother would never talk about him except to compare me to him. I loathed it. It was like she expected me to be exactly like him.

Like I would ever knock up a girl and leave her to fend for herself instead of taking responsibility like a man. I wouldn't get that far in the first place! I had more than hormones behind me driving my moral choices!

"Izuna?"

Oh. Right. Duh. My name was also an anomaly that the school aristocrats like to poke fun at. My name was the only extremely foreign name in a sea of normalcy: Izuna. Everyone always butchered the pronunciation too, which really ticked me off. Eye-zoo-nuh, E-zu-nah, Isu-nuh; you name it. What the hell kind of ghetto name is Izuna anyway? What the fuck does Izuna even mean!? Turd? Unwanted? Animal? Sometimes, I felt like it was all three combined and more. How I felt for my poor late uncle since I was apparently named after him. He was probably relentlessly bullied by the nobles too back in the day.

"Izuna, is there something wrong?"

I lazily eyed my mother. "What gave you that idea?"

"You and your 'I hate the world' attitude are really grating on my nerves," she sighed in aggravation. "Can I not get a simple yes or no out of you for once?"

"Yes, something's wrong," I answered briskly. "Everything is wrong."

She groaned. "That tells me a lot."

"Be more specific next time then."

"Smart-aleck."

"I hate school. That's my problem. I hate the teachers, I hate the aristocracy, I hate the discrimination, and the work is completely pointless in the long run. When am I ever going to need to know the proper circumference of a can of cola? Two words: not ever!"

"Izuna, we've gone over this before. If you want to function in the real world, you're going to need an education."

"I can function just fine in the real world _without_ an education," I snapped. "It's not like it'll change anything. People hate anything that goes outside the social norm."

She sighed at me. "I don't see what the big deal is. You have two more years and then you're done. I promise you, college is infinitely better than high school."

"That's what you said the last time when I went up a grade. 'Oh, don't worry! Such and such grade is infinitely better than previous so and so grade! Trust me!' or something like that. I'm sick of hearing that bullshit from you, Mom. You know as well as I do that school is complete torture."

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, young man," she snapped. "Whether you like it or not, this is required. I can't help that."

"Yeah. Just like you couldn't help Dad leaving you," I coldly bit back.

I got up from the table, grabbing my backpack and storming out the front door when I heard the metallic groaning of the school bus outside. I didn't hear the sorrowful sigh or the words she whispered under her breath.

"You were right. I _am_ an idiot. I should have gone with you…"

As per usual, the bus ride from Hell was as enjoyable as ever, note the sarcasm. I sat on someone's leftover piece of chewing gum and it smeared all over the bottom of my pants. People pointed and laughed at me when I walked through the front doors of the school. As I stalked through the hallways to get to my locker, I had to suppress the intense urge to maim every single one of those assholes. Those sudden urges of intense anger used to scare me, but I had learned to control those violent impulses that would come over me. Killing or hurting others was not moral nor was public humiliation a good reason to commit such crimes. Though I would get back at all of those bitches one day.

"Zuzu!"

I let out a surprised yelp when someone tackle-glomped me from behind. I ended up slamming my forehead into my locker door in the process.

"Marie!" I shouted, rubbing the forming bruise. "I told you not to do that!"

Marie Davis was her name. She was the only friend I had in the entire school, even though she was a good two years older than I was. She was a bit awkward, but she was incredibly kind. I had known her since…forever. My Auntie Beth adopted her when she was really young and she introduced Marie to me when I was born, or so I've been told. She was practically my sister; an eccentric and somewhat demented sister. I blame Auntie Beth for that. After all, children model after their parents.

I looked at her when she let me go. She was wearing a green t-shirt and matching beige capris and white sneakers. She had her brown hair tied up in a ponytail. She saluted me.

"Hiya, Zuzu!" she said again. "Guess what?"

"What?" I asked, though I had little interest in whatever it was.

"I just got to the big fight between Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju in the _Naruto_ manga!" she answered gleefully.

"Yay…" I said sarcastically. "You nearly gave me a concussion just to tell me _that_?"

She blinked innocently. "Yes."

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. I could feel a headache brewing already. Today was not going to be one of my better days.

How right I was. I failed the algebra test I took the previous week, I was the bulls-eye during dodgeball in gym, I tripped over nothing in the hallway before getting stepped on by a few people, and I forgot my lunch box at home.

Fuck. My. Life.

So there I was in the library, starving and irritable as I clicked away on the internet. I had been trying to find other sources to use for my next stupid project: an essay on my analysis of Holden Caulfield's character in _Catcher in the Rye_. Seriously, Holden's life was just as screwed up as mine was. I held a deep respect for the guy because of that similarity we shared.

I wish Holden was there to catch me when I went through that rye field of childhood before finally falling off that cliff into adulthood.

Nope.

I was hopelessly alone.

I let out a frustrated growl when I kept getting denied access to certain websites due to the school's firewall. Deciding to forgo the idiotic searching, I went back to Google. I had five minutes left of lunchtime before I had to go back to class. What to do with those five minutes?

Izuna.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I slowly typed in the name and searched for its meaning. A bunch of results popped up. I clicked on the one leading to Wikipedia since I knew the school would let me go to that website. I got a list of various things.

The Japanese name for the least weasel. Oh goodie. One of my guesses was right.

Mount Izuna. Oh stalwart rock, thou juttith forth from the earth and lookith like ugly ass Mrs. Brown's tits.

Cult practices. _Wonderful_.

Anime characters. Izuna Uchiha, deceased younger brother of Madara Uchiha.

I groaned again. Marie could go on forever about that guy. She praised him so much that it made me gag. Oh, he has such a noble goal! Oh, his past is so tragic! Oh, he's so strong! The dude is a drawing! A cartoon! He doesn't exist! Apparently, only I understood that. Why was he such a big deal to her?

I decided to go find out, but just as I was going to type in "Madara Uchiha" the bell rang. I sighed, grudgingly getting out of my seat before picking up my backpack. I would find out another day. Or I could ask Marie. The latter option would be easier since I didn't have access to a lot of websites on the computer I had at home. It was, in Mom's words, for educational purposes only.

The rest of the day dragged by. The only thing that brightened my mood was that Marie had decided to come over to my house to help me out with my math homework. I hated math so much. It was the most pointless subject ever. As we hopped off the bus, Marie was going off about the battle between Madara and what's-his-name.

"It's the most awesome thing ever!" she said energetically. "Former friends duking it out in a battle to save the world! The best thing is they both have different ideas on how to save the world!"

"Fabulous," I blankly replied, not caring in the slightest.

"He's the best thing ever," she serenely sighed. "Even though he'd kill me at first sight, I'd still love to meet him."

"I heard you the first thousand times. Give it a rest already."

She pouted childishly at me. "Meanie. When'd you become such a grump, Zuzu?"

"First year of junior high," I dully replied. "When I got my first wedgie and failed my first class."

"There are ways to prevent that from happening."

"Well, Miss Toni Stark, I'm not a genius like you are! Unlike you, I have enough trouble understanding _half_ the crap teachers throw at me!"

I opened the door to my house, hearing the sound of Nickelback's song _Far Away_ playing softly. I felt a surge of guilt hit me. I knew my mother always played songs like that when she needed to release pent-up emotions from missing Dad. Bringing him up was always a sore topic for her. I still remember the days she openly wept in front of me when I asked when Dad was coming back.

I knew now what "gone" meant. Gone meant one of two things: either he left or he passed on. After years of anxious waiting, I soon came to believe it was the latter guess. Sometimes I'd use the former guess when I was angry with Mom. It really hurt her when I did that. In a way, I delighted in her pain. On the other hand, I was sickened at the fact that I did and reprimanded myself for even _thinking_ of hurting her.

I was a twisted individual and I knew that.

I tiptoed into the living room, finding no one around. I assumed Mom was in her room, wallowing in her self-pity. I made my way to the kitchen table before dumping all my books onto it: geography, Japanese, English, and math. Way to curse students with constant back problems in their futures, teachers; your job has been done well. Marie sat down beside me, scooching her chair closer to me. She then hovered over all my papers.

The hours slowly ticked by. Algebra, I hate you with every inch of my body. I did fine in all my classes except for math. Math takes forever to do. If even the slightest mistake is made, the answer to the problem is wrong. It was my worst subject specifically for that reason. Being a perfectionist, I threw a mini fit whenever I got the answer wrong, especially over something incredibly stupid like misplacing the negative sign or rounding the wrong number.

It was six in the evening when I finally finished the algebra homework. Only three more subjects to go. I needed a break, so Marie suggested we watch a movie. I ended up putting in _Finding Nemo_. It was my favorite movie. Actually, I really wanted to be Nemo when I was a child. I wanted some weird situation to pop up and my dad would come looking for me, fighting tooth and nail to reach me. We'd reunite and then we'd be a happy family. I was a fool. It was mere wish fulfillment. My father would never come for me if he was still alive. It didn't mean I didn't appreciate the devotion Marlin showed while looking for his son. That was true paternal parental love. The type of love I lacked in my life.

"I have to find my son! I have to tell him how old sea turtles are!"

Oh man…that line got me every time…

Before I knew it, the movie was over and it was back to homework. Sometime during the movie Mom had cooked dinner. She made some sort of…pie? I had no idea what it was, but it tasted pretty good. It was fried tofu filled with sushi rice. It was a foreign dish of some sort; not my favorite, but not the most hated either. I think she called in Inari sushi or something like that. Anyway, Marie and I spent another hour on the rest of our homework before she decided to rant about how nice my mother was.

Someone shoot me.

Don't get me wrong. I love my mother dearly, but she was so overbearing that it was suffocating at times. My grandparents were no better. They treated me like I was five; but then again, what kind of grandparents would they be if they didn't? There was also a mix of…pity and fury in their eyes when they looked at me. I could only guess that they weren't happy with Dad knocking up their only daughter and then vanishing off the face of the Earth.

"And then he captured—"

"Marie, I don't give a fucking care!" I shouted. "Stop gushing over a piece of fake trash!"

She gasped dramatically. "Izuna!"

"_What_? I don't gush over pointless things," I said, crossing my arms. "Why is this 'Madara' such a big deal to you?"

"Because he's awesome," she answered bluntly. "Plus, he reminds me of you."

I raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Similar personality, strikingly similar looks, and you have the same name as his younger brother."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope."

She took a manga book out of her backpack. She flipped through the pages. She smiled when she found what she was looking for. Turning the book to me, she pointed at one panel which showed two men. She pointed at the one with hair shaped slightly like a chicken's butt.

"That's Izuna Uchiha," she said before pointing to the man next to him. "And that is Madara Uchiha. Believe me now?"

I didn't say anything. I was too busy looking at the man called Madara. I felt my heart stop for a good few seconds. I didn't breathe. I didn't blink. Everything in the world froze in that moment.

I knew that face. It was in Japanese manga style, but there was no mistaking that face.

That was the face that had preoccupied my dreams for years. That was the face I had wanted to meet my whole life. That was the face I had given up on ever seeing in reality.

I was looking at the face of my father.

_Holy shit_.

"MOM!"

* * *

**And here we have the sequel to the generally accepted MadaOC story, _Dance with the Devil_! I give you this: _Sins of the Father_! This story shall focus on Madara and my OC Lilith's son, Izuna. Lots of twists and turns are to come, so I hope you enjoy this different take on the fulfillment of a son's dream to meet his dad.**

**I also hope you end up liking my OC Izuna! He was already in development back during first few chapters of DwtD. I'm quite satisfied with the final result and I hope you are too. Please read and review and tell me what you think of the story so far!**


	2. Of Truth and Citrus Lollipops

No way.

There was just no way. I had to be losing my mind! There was no way in hell that my dad was a manga character! It was crazy! Ludicrous! _Inconceivable_!

Oh great. I felt like that small dude from that cruddy _Princess Bride_ movie. I also felt like I had regressed back into a six-year-old. I felt insecure, hopeful, livid, and frightened all at once. I rushed down the stairs faster than I thought possible, Marie's manga still in hand. My mother had a shocked and worried look when I went up to her in a slight panic.

"Izuna, what is it?" she asked, concern shining in her grey eyes that matched my own. "What happened?"

"This!" was the only thing I could say as I opened the manga to the page Marie had shown me. "Tell me it's a huge coincidence!"

Her eyes widened when she saw the picture, though she remained silent. My heart was hammering in my chest, a sick sensation settling in the pit of my stomach. It had to be a fluke! This Kishimoto just happened to create a character that looked exactly like my dad in the only photo I saw him in! Just say it already, _please_!

"Izuna…" she said quietly. "I…There's…"

"Mom, _please_. Just tell me it's a coincidence," I insisted, desperation and panic slowly rising. "I mean…this is reality. Manga characters don't exist! Fantasy doesn't exist! You _told_ me so!"

"…No, Izuna. It's not a coincidence."

My breath hitched. "_What_? How can…? But you said—!"

"Calm down, little ninja. I want you to sit down and take a deep breath."

I slowly sat down on the couch, doing what she told me. The buzzing feel of adrenaline still coursed through me, making me feel on edge. My mother sat down next to me, a far-off look in her eyes.

"There are some things I need to tell you."

Oh boy. Here comes "The Talk". I had been waiting for this conversation my whole live; the day Mom would spill the beans on _everything_. I was eager for it, but I was unsure at the same time. Did I _want_ to know about Dad? Mom just admitted he was a manga character! Did she mean Kishimoto based this Madara off of Dad? Please be true, please be true, _please be true_!

"I wanted to wait until you were a bit older before I told you about…your father."

I unconsciously leaned in, hanging onto her every word. She looked sad, ruefully smiling at me. She placed a hand on my face, caressing it slightly in the way she always did when I needed comfort.

"You look so much like him. You are definitely your father's son," she said. "But because of that, there have been so many burdens placed upon you. I can't help but feel responsible for everything."

"Mom, you can't control what people think and do," I replied, hoping to ease her guilt away. "It's not your fault. It's Dad's for leaving."

"No. It was mine. I was the one who told him to leave."

I felt my eyes widen, my mouth falling open slightly. "Why?"

"Because…he didn't belong here."

"What do you mean he didn't belong? You loved him, didn't you? So why—"

"It's because I loved him that I had to let him go. He didn't belong here because this was not _his_ world."

"…Wha…?"

"Your father…wasn't from our world; this reality. He didn't live here. He came from somewhere else; an entirely different place altogether."

"He's an ALIEN!?"

"NO!" she snapped. "He was from an alternate dimension parallel to ours. Due to some…unorthodox methods, he was taken from that place and brought here. Through some twist of fate, he came into my care."

I couldn't say anything. My voice box refused to work. Alternate dimensions? Was something like that possible? She wasn't pulling my leg in some sick joke, was she? No. She was dead serious. She'd never tell me something so absurd in such a serious tone. To be honest, I wished it _was_ some really bad joke. The guilty look in her eyes intensified when I remained silent. With a slight quiver in her voice, she continued. A shrewd smile crossed her features.

"I still remember that first day we met. He threatened to kill me, I thought I had schizophrenia and that he was a hallucination, and he killed my peanut-butter bagel. He still owes me one for that."

I stuck my tongue out in disgust, making sickened groan. I hated peanut butter. I silently applauded this strange father of mine that I was slowly wishing I had never inquired about. Everything was getting infinitely more complicated than it needed to be.

"He…was an anomaly in my life. I hated him for creating a ripple in the normal balance I had managed to maintain up until that point. He was unable to return to his world, so I decided to look after him until he could. The longer I spent time with him, the more I connected with him. Before I knew it, I was falling for him. I chided myself for ever thinking someone like him could love a simple girl like me, but then he surprised me when he revealed that he loved me too. I was so happy. However, I knew someone like him didn't belong in a place like this. When a way for him to return home appeared, he wanted to stay here with me. I…destroyed everything for both of us that day. I…told him that he was needed elsewhere. There were too many uncertainties that I didn't want him dealing with. Before he left, we did…something together. It was one time."

"Mom…?"

"Yes?"

I bit my lip. "I was a mistake…?"

"Don't say that. You're not a mistake. You never will be. You're my baby boy and believe me when I say that I would never ask for anything else in life. You are the greatest gift God could ever give me."

"That's what you say," I despondently muttered. "I bet my father would think otherwise…"

"Izuna, I know him well. He would've loved you. Trust me."

"Trust you!?" I yelled, the huge dam of mixed emotions finally bursting forth. "I _did_ trust you! You made me live a life of lies! I'm some alternate dimension spawn created by a stroke of pure luck! My dad is a frickin' evil manga ninja! Why the fuck should I trust _you_!?"

"Izuna, that's not—"

"Don't give me that bullshit! I'm sick of it! You can die in a ditch for all I care!"

I had never felt so angry and betrayed in my life. My own mother had been lying to me my entire life. My dad was Madara Uchiha? A part of me denied such an outrageous claim, yet the rest of me disagreed. Deep down, I knew what Mom said was true; and that thought appalled me. If I couldn't trust my own _mother_, the one person who had been with me since the day I came into being, who _could_ I trust? I was alone. No one was worth trusting if all they would do is deceive you.

I hated it all. Why did the world have to be so fucked up, filled with equally fucked up sickos? It would be better if all of that animosity could simply disappear. People could stop being jackasses and actually get along for once.

I stomped back into my room, slamming the door with enough force to knock the one photo in my room off my bookshelf. It fell, shattering on contact with the ground. I was too pissed to care. Marie, who had decided to stay in my room while my mother gave me "The Talk", picked up the photo and looked at it.

"Wow. Your dad looks like Madara Uchiha!" she stated bluntly. "How come I never saw this before?"

"Shut. UP!" I snapped, throwing one of my pillows at her. "Just shut the fuck up!"

She shrunk a bit behind the pillow, looking genuinely frightened. I huffed in aggravation, breathing deeply and clenching my eyes shut. I pulled the other pillow off my bed, burying my face into it as I slid to the floor. I summoned all the power I could muster to stop the buildup of tears that were forming behind my eyelids. My dad was an evil ninja, I was a mistake, and I said a number of horrible and unforgivable things to the one person who gave my life meaning and tried to keep me happy to the best of her ability.

My life officially sucked ass.

I heard a slight rustling as I felt something thin being slipped into the back pocket of my pants. I didn't have to check it to know what it was. Marie had put the photo there since she had nowhere else to put it.

"Zuzu?" she timidly asked. "Are you okay?"

"Just _peachy_," I choked out. "I mean, every day you discover that you're the son of an evil freak. It's practically the norm!"

"Zuzu…"

"Why do I even bother anymore? My peers think I'm a wimp and an anomaly, adults consider me a defect of society, and my own mother lies to me. I can't rely on anyone but myself."

"You can rely on me!" Marie countered. "Don't worry, Zuzu. Things will be alright. They always do, don't they?"

"Maybe…" I replied, though it came out muffled. "I'm such a bastard…I can't believe I said those things to her. She's going to hate me for _sure_ this time."

"Well, that was certainly entertaining. I didn't expect someone like you to be so…emotional."

I stiffened, my heart pounding fiercely against my chest when I heard the unfamiliar voice. I quickly brought the pillow down so it wasn't obstructing my vision. I hesitantly turned my head, seeing a pair of legs clad in what looked to be weird mishmash of sandals and boots. I slowly looked up, spotting a grown man sitting on my bed and looking down at me through a tiny hole in the swirly orange mask he wore. He was dressed in a black cloak with red clouds on it. Looking closely, I swore I thought his visible eye was glowing red.

I had no idea what to feel at that moment. Fear, uncertainty, anger, and confusion were all assaulting my brain at the same time that I was unsure of what action to take. Should I scream? Yell? Attack? I didn't have to choose since Marie acted out before I did. She gasped deeply, her eyes widening and her jaw falling open. She then let out a quiet, but VERY high pitched squeal.

"Tobito!" she said happily. "Zuzu, how did you get such an awesome cosplayer in here?"

"Wha…?" was all I managed to say.

She zoomed over to the stranger, immediately hugging his arm. The guy was apparently thrown for a loop by her actions judging from his reaction. She nuzzled her cheek against his arm. I could just imagine the mini hearts floating off of her figure as she continued to fondle the dude.

"Oh, this is awesome! My second favorite _Naruto_ character!" she exclaimed. "If only there was a perfect Madara cosplayer. My life would be complete then!"

"Wha…?" I said again, still not understanding what the hell was going on.

"So you know of me," the stranger stated. "I can't allow that."

My eyes widened when I felt something akin to a giant vacuum cleaner hose sucking on my body. I watched in horror as Marie simply vanished into the guy's eye hole. I immediately felt an explosion of fear overtake me. I scooted as far away from the man until my back hit my closed bedroom door. I could feel myself trembling as the guy stood up and walked over to me. He knelt down to my level, allowing me to see the sickening red orb beyond his mask. He grabbed my face, staring at it with a deep focus. I couldn't move away from him. I felt like I had lost all power in my limbs.

"I can definitely see the physical resemblance," he noted. "Though the rest I believe will have to go."

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" I demanded, though my voice was shaking due to my fear.

"It doesn't matter who I am," he answered as he released his grip on my chin. "As for what I want…I'm merely a choice you can take."

"What?"

"You do not belong here, Izuna," he said. "Surely you have noticed by now that you are different from the rest of the humans here?"

"Okay, Citrus Lollipop; just how the hell do you know that?" I growled at him. "You were spying on me?"

"You interest me, boy. You're wasting your potential by living this life."

"Potential?"

"Do you not believe your mother's words about the identity of your father?"

"Not really…I don't really know what to believe anymore. What makes you think I can trust your words any more than hers?"

"Because I know your father personally."

My eyes widened. "You do?"

"Yes. I—"

"Okay, this better not be some sort of trolling _Star Wars_ 'I am your father' bit; because if it is, I'll kick you."

Citrus Lollipop paused, probably frowning confusedly behind that mask. A dark and condescending chuckle came from the masked man.

"Straight and to the point. I guess that's another trait you inherited from him. At least you're no fool, Izuna."

"I'll ask again. What do you want from me?"

Citrus Lollipop held up two fingers. "I'm giving you a choice. Either you can stay here in this…pitiful world and remain oblivious and ignorant of the truth," He lowered one finger. "Or you can come with me into mine. I can show you everything I know, and you'll achieve heights as a shinobi known to only a spare few. Your…morals have no meaning here and you can unleash the monster you keep locked up inside your heart however you please."

He paused and, once again, I could see the red glow behind the eye hole. "So, what'll it be, Izuna Uchiha?"

What sort of weird shit did I get myself into this time? There was no way I was hallucinating. He knew way too much about me, even that destructive urge that I have had for as long as I could remember. This dude was for real. How else could he possibly know so much? But the question remained…

Did I want to go?

I didn't get time to think when I heard a hesitant, but urgent knocking on my bedroom door. I froze completely.

"Izuna? May I come in?"

I heard Citrus Lollipop chuckle again. "Impeccable timing."

The door pushed me aside as my mother walked into the room. I heard her gasp as she pointed a finger at Citrus Lollipop.

"You!" she shouted in revulsion. "How are _you_ here!?"

"I'm here on personal business," he shrewdly answered. "And you just sealed a deal for me."

I felt the same sucking sensation and my mother disappeared before my eyes. The terror I felt in my being increased substantially and anger also began to course through my body. I stood up, sizing up to the masked freak. I was a few inches shorter than he was, most likely due to an age difference. I glared at him, clenching my fists.

"Leave my mother out of this! She has nothing to do with anything!" I yelled at him.

"She's involved now," he stated nonchalantly. "She became another bargaining chip for me, just like your friend. If you want to see either of them alive again, you'll accept my offer."

I growled, biting my lip in the process. I didn't want to leave home, but at the same time I wanted to see what else was out there. I didn't want my mother or Marie getting hurt, even though they both aggravated me on so many levels. I couldn't let anything happen to them. They meant everything to me. Without them, I'd be nothing.

"Fine…you win," I answered reluctantly. "I'll go with you, but only if you promise not to harm my family."

Citrus Lollipop nodded. "Very well. You have my word."

"One more question. What do I call you? Or would you prefer Citrus Lollipop?"

Seemingly amused, he let out a sinister laugh and I nearly reeled when his single red eye glowed from behind the mask. "Just call me 'Sensei'."

Suddenly, I found myself being sucked into his…whatever it was, the feeling likely akin to being sucked into a vacuum. I could hardly breathe, but it seemed that my brain decided to be merciful since I was knocked out before I was aware of anything else.

* * *

Everything was going according to plan, Tobi mused darkly. When he heard about Madara's "excursion" in a supposed other dimension when he first met him as Obito Uchiha, he was more than a little skeptical. Even after…Rin's death, it still seemed farfetched in his mind.

That was until he discovered what his Kamui was capable of later after experimenting more with his Mangekyou.

To think there were arrays of separate but connected dimensions that existed out there. Zestu nearly balked when they learned of this new discovery. Black Zetsu in particular was most curious about this new revelation. The possibilities in each one were endless. What a day it was when he happened to find the specific dimension Madara visited that he had hinted at throughout his stay with the old man. It was true to every word: vastly superior technology unlike anything he had ever seen before and people that relied on heavy artillery to do their fighting rather than jutsu. In fact, the people were incapable of using jutsu. Even though they had chakra, their chakra networks were too underdeveloped for any of them to be able to use jutsu properly.

So the dimension had its strengths and flaws, but he could only imagine what it would be like to live there. Ignorance was bliss. The people lived in relative peace worldwide. It was this peace that Madara desired for all people in their own dimension. It was the peace Obito had wished he could have lived to see with Rin by his side, even if she never returned his feelings for her. But it was not to be. Rin was gone and so was Obito. This current world was meaningless. That's why he would create a world where Rin could live and enjoy that peace.

Madara had also mentioned "his Rin" had lived in that world. He could sort of understand why. Compared to females in their dimension during Madara's time, the females in that one were not afraid to show their guts and demanded respect from men even though their physical capabilities were inferior. They were strong and diligent; not frail little porcelain dolls that couldn't do anything. They were like the kunoichi that were seen today without the risk having your skull split apart by their ferocity.

Then he found _him_. That boy.

Either Madara left that little tidbit out or he truly had no idea he had left behind a son. That boy was the only one with a fully developed chakra network, not to mention he was the spitting image of his father. He stuck out like a sore thumb, which was made all the more obvious by his peers. He saw the rage and hatred the boy kept hidden underneath his detached demeanor. Those were the signs of the makings of a true Uchiha. He had no doubt the boy would possess the talent of his predecessor. If he could sway the boy under his control, he'd be an overwhelming force to be reckoned with. If not, he would still make a fairly good pawn.

He needed a safety net in case things didn't go according to plan. What better way to do that than with his master's son? No one knew about him. That meant no one would see it coming.

So, using his Kamui, Tobi trailed the boy back to his home and watched in amusement as he fought with his mother. Apparently, she had kept this little secret all to herself and the boy was conflicted.

Tobi smirked. Yes, conflict was good when manipulating someone as it made it easier to play on their weaknesses. The boy, Izuna's (Tobi hummed a little at the name), weakness was his anger, a trait he undoubtedly shared with his father. Except, unlike Madara, he wasn't trained to hone that anger or keep it under wraps until it was needed.

Those feeble emotions would be the first thing to go. If Izuna were to be an effective pawn in Tobi's plans, he would have to be trained to detach himself from useless emotions that would get in the way of battle, as well as the morality everyone in this dimension seemed to share. Though ninja did have their morals, an aversion towards killing was only going to end badly.

The look on Izuna's face when he revealed his presence was quite amusing. He reacted quite like the undisciplined sixteen-year-old he truly was, quite differently than he would have expected the son of Madara to act. Another thing he mentally noted he needed to fix.

He then was essentially glomped by an older teenage girl who proceeded to rub her cheek against his arm. Not only that but she knew his name. That just wouldn't do. Using his Kamui, he abducted the eccentric girl and decided she would be a bargaining chip towards ensuring Izuna's loyalty.

He gave Izuna an ultimatum: either stay ignorant in this peaceful world or come with him and explore the endless possibilities of his heritage, of the world of shinobi.

It really wasn't up to the boy either way as Tobi wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Izuna's mother's interruption played right into his hands and all but ensured that Izuna take his offer, lest he never see either of his loved ones alive again. The boy fell right into his hands as planned. It would only be a matter of time now to change the innocent fool into a stone-cold, seasoned warrior.

With a quick Kamui, he brought the boy to his secret base in Amegakure. Izuna landed on the ground with a loud thump, kissing the ground face first. With a pained groan, the boy started twitching slightly. Tobi walked over to the boy, grabbing him by the hair and forcing him to look up. The boy's tense grey eyes glared back at his Sharingan through the hole in his mask.

"Give me some warning next time, Citrus Lollipop," Izuna snapped at him.

"There will be no further warnings for you in the future," Tobi stated with a merciless voice. "Starting right now, your shinobi training will begin. I will not tolerate failure or disobedience from you."

"Suck my dick, you bitch!"

The sickening sound of a fist crashing into a cheekbone echoed off the cave walls. Izuna placed a hand against his now severely bruised face, hissing loudly at the pain he felt. Anger sparked within those grey pools. The fury only increased when he noticed the slightest uplift of Tobi's eye.

Excellent.

"I told you I would not tolerate any disobedience from you. You shall do as I say and you will do it without hesitation. If you decide you'd rather let your loved ones suffer for your sake, by all means continue defying me. Unless you want to live knowing your actions killed your mother, you would do well to obey me."

Izuna growled, biting his lip hard enough for it to bleed. His fingers dug into the soil, clenched hard enough for them to shake.

"Why me?"

"You were an anomaly that no one accepted. Even your own mother treated you like a ticking time bomb. Your differences are what make you who you are. You are the son of one of the greatest shinobi in history. If trained correctly, you can bring out the skills you were always meant to learn. It is your destiny to be a shinobi, one that could potentially surpass your father. Is that not every son's dream is to be as great as his father before him?"

"If I even knew the bastard…maybe I would…"

"The world is cruel, isn't it? Taking away parents from children, losing loved ones through petty conflicts, and discriminating against those who are different from the norm; it is a shame these things must exist. Wouldn't you agree with me, Izuna?"

"I suppose…"

"I can give you the power to change these things, Izuna. It starts…by accepting your role."

The boy was quiet, glaring at the ground. After several minutes, the boy had a look of defeat in his grey eyes. His bangs shadowed his eyes, giving the child a disheartened look.

"…Fine."

Tobi smirked beyond his mask. Now it was time to corrupt the child and break him down piece by little piece.

The Izuna before him would no longer exist by the time he was through with the boy.

* * *

**Forgive me! I had writer's block for the longest time. Many thanks to my friend kitsunelover300 for jumpstarting me and helping me get this chapter done. I don't know what I'd do without you. Hope this chapter was worth the long wait I made you all go through.**


	3. Corruption

Ruby liquid. Hazy light. Sin. Meticulous disassembly. Flames of passionate hatred. The crimson gaze of death.

These were the things the boy had lived by for the past several months. Each day, he would drag the boy with him to train. The child was proving to be a suitable pawn for Project Tsuki no Me. Tobi smirked behind his mask, watching as the boy decimated the group of rogue shinobi conspiring against "Lord Pein" outside Amegakure. It was incredible how far a simple boy could go when "enticed" with the right words.

The first couple of weeks with Izuna were unfruitful, much to Tobi's irritation. The boy knew how to push his buttons in the exact same way that Bakakashi did when he was still Obito. It disgusted him how innocently pure the boy still was despite the rough conditions he had grown up with. Izuna also had little to no interest in following the way of the shinobi, purposely finding methods to mess up his training regimen while still completing them as per Tobi's deal.

It was then Tobi decided enough was enough. He needed to corrupt the child. He wanted to peel the brat apart; to destroy everything Izuna cared about or believed in. In order to do that, he had to open old scars and carve even deeper incisions into the boy's psyche.

He could remember that day clearly and he made sure that it was a day Izuna would never forget.

* * *

_Darkness._

_There was nothing but darkness in the room and it frightened him, but he had wanted to do this for a while now. Nothing would stop him this time!_

_He struggled to lift himself through the small opening. He eventually managed to get through, though he was left panting afterwards. He shivered at the cold air in the room, the pitch blackness unnerving him even more. He pulled out the flashlight he had brought with him, clicking the thing on. He peeked around, shining the light on all the dusty boxes and containers. He slowly stood up, tiptoeing past the mess._

_The attic was such a mysterious place. All sorts of doodads and thingamajigs were lying about. He smiled when he spotted their Christmas decorations, all tightly packed in an organized fashion. He continued his plodding walk, taking his time to observe the wonderful land of knickknacks before him. He was so engrossed with looking around that he ran into a large object. He let out a small "oof" before his butt landed on the wood floor. He looked oddly at the object. It was a trunk and there was a weird white stick thingy with commas on it lying against the wall behind the trunk. Having never seen these objects before, curiosity got the better of him. He decided to take a quick look inside the chest._

_When he opened the lid, he was confused. It was filled with clothes. However, these weren't the ordinary clothes he would see his Mommy wearing. These looked like they'd be worn by a big, strong man like the ones he'd see when he was with his Mommy when they went out somewhere. He took out the weird red metal thingy on top so he could get to the clothes under it. It was heavy, so it clunked loudly when it hit the floor. He dug through the clothes, wondering if there was anything hiding beyond the layers of fabric. His hands touched something super soft, so he snatched it. He tugged it out, holding it before him. It was long. Was it a robe of some sort? It looked too fancy to be a robe. He tossed the thing aside, going back to his digging. He continued his search, hoping to find something worthwhile._

_He touched something thin and sticky._

_He immediately grabbed it and took it out. He shined the flashlight on it, cocking his head to one side in curious confusion. It was a photo. It still looked relatively new, but he knew it had to be an old picture. He did not recognize either person in the photo. The girl on the right seemed to remind him of his Mommy, but he did not know who the man standing next to her was._

"_Izuna Matthew Price!"_

_He let out a loud cry of fright, quickly turning around and shining his flashlight into his mother's face. She looked angry. She turned a lightbulb on above them, lighting up the room. She came up to him, looking down at him in disapproval._

"_What are you doing up here?" she demanded. "You should be in bed. You have school tomorrow."_

"_I was…I just wanted…" he trailed off. "Looking around?"_

_His Mommy sighed, giving him an amused smile. "Curiosity is going to get the better of you one of these days, Izuna. If you wanted to know what was up here, you could have asked me to show you."_

"_Sorry, Mommy," he apologized. "I won't do it again."_

_She knelt down, ruffling up his spiky locks. "Come on. It's bedtime for you, my little ninja."_

"_Wait, Mommy!" he blurted out. "Can you tell me who they are?"_

"_Who?"_

_He pointed to the picture. "Them."_

_Her eyes widened at the photo. They then lowered, a sad look appearing on her face. She sat down next to him, pulling him into her side and wrapping an arm around his form. She held the picture in front of them._

"_This is me and Daddy," she explained quietly. "This was taken a long time ago by Auntie Bethany, way before you were born."_

"_That's Daddy?" he said in amazement. "He looks like me!"_

"_That's right. You look a lot like your father. You also act like him sometimes too."_

"_I do?"_

"_You always want things to be perfect and you deeply care about those you love."_

"_You and Daddy look happy," Izuna noted._

"_Yes…" his mother answered sadly. "We were very happy. But some things happened and Daddy had to leave. He's gone now, but I'll always remember the times we shared together and I'll always treasure the gift he gave me."_

"_What gift?"_

"_You, Izuna. The greatest gift he left me was you."_

_Izuna smiled. "Daddy sounds really nice."_

"_Yes. Underneath the rough surface, he was a truly kind person."_

"_You think he'd love me?"_

_Her grip on him increased slightly. "Of course he would."_

_He took the picture back from her, hugging it. "Daddy…"_

"_Don't be sad, Izuna. One day, somewhere out there, I'm sure we'll meet him again."_

"_I hope we do…I miss him…"_

"_Izuna?"_

"_Sweepy…" he muttered, slouching against his mother's side._

_"Nennen korori yo, okorori yo," she tenderly sang as he slowly drifted off to sleep. "Bouya wa yoi ko da, nenne shina. Bouya no omori wa, doko e itta? Ano yama koete, sato e itta. Sato no miyage ni, nani morotta? Denden taiko ni, shou no fue."_

He awoke from the dream, frowning at the ceiling. He thought any happy memories had been locked away. He clenched his arms, lowering his head and letting the tears fall.

No matter how much he denied it, no matter how many times he convinced himself he didn't care…he still craved her comforting embrace. He sold his soul to the devil and there was no turning back. He wasn't an innocent child anymore and there would be no mercy for the actions he had committed. He had to forget about her. As long as she was safe, he didn't care how much he was broken apart and put back together.

Everything he did…was for her.

"Izuna. I have a mission for you."

"What do you want?" Izuna snapped at Tobi.

He felt his eyes widen when the man told him what he was supposed to do. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as the dark words carved themselves into his mind.

"You want me to _what_!?"

"I won't repeat myself, Izuna," Tobi stated, the red gaze of his Sharingan burning through Izuna's soul.

"I am NOT going to kill someone over cruddy politics!" Izuna shouted indignantly. "All politicians are corrupt assholes, anyway. Besides, you're strong enough to do it. Why do I have to do your job for you; other than the reason being that you're too goddamn lazy to?"

"I believe you're ready to take the next step," was Tobi's wry answer. "Since you seem to think my methods are a joke, I simply want to see the fruit of your labors. Show me you are a capable shinobi and I _may_ consider letting the energetic one go."

The boy immediately tensed up. Tobi smirked, knowing he had gotten the teen's attention with that lie. With the child's loyalty wrapped firmly around his fingers, he could pull the strings with the greatest of ease. Izuna silently followed him out into the land of endless rain. They traveled a great distance and it was soon evident to the child that the land had been devastated. He could see the pity in the teen's eyes as they passed by decrepit ruins that were once villages and starving families huddling together under stone covers, shivering from the cold rain.

"It's a tragedy," Tobi stated, bringing Izuna out of his reverie. "These people were devastated by war, famine, and disease. They weren't involved in the affairs of the larger villages, yet they were the ones who paid the greatest price. While the strong survive and flourish, they leave the weak to wither and die in obscurity. Men, women, even children are not spared from the catastrophes that plague this world."

"Shit happens…" Izuna answered quietly. "It's not like I can do anything about it…"

"There is. You simply choose not to see it."

"I told you before that I have no intention in helping you with this wacko plan of yours!" Izuna shouted angrily. "What makes you think one man can destroy all the evil in this world? It's just not possible!"

"There is a way, but I cannot do it alone, Izuna. I need your help if the plan is to succeed."

"Why me and not some other guy!?"

"You are one of the last surviving members of our once great Uchiha Clan. Of my two eyes, you are the only one I can cultivate at the moment. The other one is of…questionable loyalty. It will be some time before that one can be persuaded to the cause."

"I'm only loyal because you have my family! I don't even have a choice in the matter!"

"That is why I am giving you this mission. I want to see where you stand as a shinobi. You can choose to flee and escape with your life at the cost of your family's or you can stay under my tutelage. It's all up to you, Izuna."

The boy started twirling a strand of his long hair. "Just tell me where to go so I can get this shit done and over with."

"Very well. As you wish."

So he had brought the teen to the building where a supposed "uprising" was to be planned. The boy had snuck in without a problem. How Tobi gleefully watched in sadistic pleasure as the child squirmed in place when he was to take the lives of people who were there. Izuna had refused to kill the family, despite his mission objective. The boy's mother had really driven her morals into him.

The father had pinned Izuna down, knife raised to kill. The next few moments surprised even Tobi. Two flashes of red had caught his eye. Blood splattered the hardwood flooring and the steel of a sword had pierced through the man's heart. The body limped over, causing the wife and children to scream in terror. Izuna's expression was frozen in a state of shock and fear. Tobi could just imagine the viscous feel of the blood running down the teen's arm and the small splatters that nicked his face. Wide eyes were quivering as they stared at their handiwork.

Izuna dropped his sword, staring at his shaking bloodstained hands. He had started hyperventilating as the realization of what he had done dawned upon him. Suddenly, a twisted grin spread across his face. His eyes locked upon the remaining victims. He pulled his sword from the father and turned on the rest of the family. He beheaded the children, probably wanting their deaths to be swift and painless. He took his time with the mother, stabbing her in all the places he knew he could hurt without killing her. It was a gruesome sight to witness, yet Tobi took pleasure in it. Once he knew Izuna had finished the job, he entered the room the boy was in. His merciless rush of adrenaline had diminished, leaving behind a shell of the child he once was. Tobi almost took pity on him.

Almost.

"Why are you crying?" he demanded.

"I killed someone…I killed someone….I killed someone…" was the mantra Izuna kept spewing out, his eyes still focused on the fresh corpses before him.

"Yes. And you did it spectacularly."

"I killed them…and I _enjoyed_ it…" Izuna muttered in horror. "Why…?"

"It's in your blood. You are the son of a shinobi, a shadow warrior destined to a life of bloodshed and death. You were cursed with this fate from the very beginning with no hope of ever escaping it. After all, your eyes have etched this scene into your mind forever. You will never forget this day, no matter how much you try to run away from it."

"I…"

"Embrace the darkness, Izuna. In the end, it will only make you strong. Take your inner demons and make the ones who truly deserve to suffer experience the horrors you have witnessed. Even the actions you have committed today have made you stronger."

"HOW!? TELL ME **HOW**!? WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT I HAD TO KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE FOR IT!? I'M TIRED OF LIES!"

"Your bloodline has been sleeping all this time. It has now awakened and, with it, your true potential has been unlocked."

Izuna stared at the bloodied weapon, his gaze as hard as the steel blade before him. Instead of storm grey, his eyes were as crimson as the liquid that stained the sword.

"The world doesn't have to be this way. With your help, we can change not only this world, but yours as well. Peace will finally be attained. You can finally have the chance to live your life with the father you never knew and your mother won't have to agonize over his absence. You can have that chance to start over… if you help me."

Izuna stood up, his bangs shadowing his eyes. He continued to stare at the blade in his hand. Tobi watched as the boy knelt down before him, Sharingan eyes with a single tomoe in both looked up at him.

"Then teach me how I can change this world…Sensei."

Tobi smiled behind his mask. The first step had been accomplished.

* * *

From that day forward, Izuna had taken his shinobi training seriously. He excelled faster than Tobi thought possible despite being a half-blood. Perhaps it was because his father was one of the greatest shinobi in history coupled with his Uchiha lineage. The teen had mastered the art of genjutsu, excelled with his clan's Fire Style techniques, but had very poor physical capabilities and his taijutsu was pathetic. Tobi wasn't surprised. There were no training methods in the boy's world that allowed him to possess the same physical endurance or experience as those shinobi that had been training their entire lives for the occupation.

He watched as Izuna swiftly killed each swordsman once he caught them in his genjutsu. For those he didn't get to in time, the genjutsu often broke their minds and were reduced to the driveling fools they truly were. Tobi often wondered what exactly Izuna made them see. The teen's answer still perplexed him. Whatever "haunted animatronics" were, they were apparently terrifying and worked well as a way to frighten those who managed to escape from Izuna's genjutsu.

The boy was still no match for his superiors. If Izuna should meet Itachi in battle, he had no doubt Izuna would lose. He still needed more time to train the boy before he could be introduced to the Akatsuki.

He had already been forcing Izuna through a twisted obstacle course to build up the boy's endurance and pain tolerance. Stamina was slowly being increased through a strict exercise regimen that Zetsu had been more than helpful with. Lastly, weapons training was starting to become enjoyable for both parties. Like his father before him, Izuna had chosen the gunbai as his weapon of choice.

To this day, Izuna still referred to it as an "Ass Fan", which Tobi couldn't help but chuckle at.

Tobi descended from his perch, seeing Izuna lick the blood off his katana. Lazy Sharingan eyes rolled over towards him. Izuna lowered his blade, bowing before his teacher in respect.

"Sensei, I have done as you ordered."

"Good work," Tobi said. "You have done well, my student."

"Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Actually…I believe it's time I tell you what you have wanted to know your entire life."

"Sensei?"

"It's time you know about your father."

Izuna's eyes widened. A spark of wonder twinkled in the crimson orbs as Tobi turned his back to him. Izuna followed after him like a faithful puppy. Despite the corruption, Izuna still held the curiosity of a child. Those were the parts of the boy's soul Tobi could never reach and taint with the darkness of the world. Shinobi or not, he was still a son with no father to look up to. The best he had was Tobi.

"Your father was a prodigy; a shinobi unlike anything the Uchiha Clan had seen in years," Tobi began as he led Izuna across the landscape. "However, the times he lived in were unkind to him and his family."

"How so?" Izuna asked.

"He lived in a time of the clan wars. One was lucky to live to their late twenties during that time. Children were mercilessly sent into battle and lost their lives. Your father was one of those children, forced to grow up before his rightful time due to those wars. He lost his brothers to other clans, leaving only his baby brother to protect. He was your namesake."

"My uncle?"

"Your father wanted to change the state of the world. So the day he became the Head of the Uchiha, he struck a truce with his mortal enemies: the Senju. With their strength, they formed a hidden village where multitudes of people could live in safety. However, despite the truce, the Senju slowly took control of the village. Your father saw the growing danger the Senju posed to the Uchiha. He attempted to rally them, but they all refused to listen. Knowing no one would rise against the Senju with him, he left the village. When he became strong enough to combat the leader of the Senju, he returned to destroy what he deemed to be a threat to the Uchiha. However…he lost that battle. He met his end that day, leaving behind a child he had no knowledge of."

"So not even Daddy Dearest knew about me?"

"No, unfortunately. He died before he could hold you in his arms, but do not hate him for it. Hate the ones who killed him. Hate Hashirama Senju, those related to his despicable clan, and all those who believe in his ideology: the Will of Fire."

Izuna clenched his fists. "Are there any survivors?"

"Two. The Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, the very village your father formed with Hashirama; the granddaughter of the late First Hokage: Tsunade Senju. The other is Naruto Uzumaki, a distant relative to the Senju through the Uzumaki Clan."

Hatred burned within the Sharingan eyes before him. "Sensei…do you think you can train me to become strong enough to kill them both?"

"Why do you want to kill them?" Tobi asked. "They have done nothing to you."

"Maybe not, but their blood is a stain upon this world. It disgusts me. Their lineage took my father from me. They took a man my mother loved away from her. They took a great leader away from his clan. You told me that the Hokage was the one who ordered the elimination of the Uchiha. It's time for us to return to favor.

"Izuna…"

"I'll make them pay. Every single person who associates with Hashirama Senju's ideals will suffer the same fate as their leader. I don't care if it kills me or if it's an impossible task. I will destroy everything I can up until I breathe my last breath."

"Spoken like a true Uchiha. You are definitely your father's legacy. He would be proud if he were alive to see you today."

"He already is."

Tobi blinked. "Oh?"

"You are the one who taught me to grow up and be a man. You helped me up every time I fell. You pushed me to overcome my limits. You have been more than just a teacher to me. Right now…you're the only one I can truly call 'Father'."

"…Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe you are ready for the next step."

"Next step?" Izuna asked.

"There is a group I have been gathering members for to support our cause. I believe you are ready to meet them and take on the responsibility of being a member. I can trust that you won't kill anyone who annoys you?"

"What's this group called?"

"The Akatsuki. It is called that because with it, we shall bring the dawn of a new era upon these blood-soaked lands."

"I see."

"However, this doesn't mean that your training with me is over. There is still much that you need to learn."

Izuna smirked deviously. "I wouldn't want it any other way…Father."

"Are you truly willing to put your life on the line for Project Tsuki no Me, Izuna?"

"I speak the truth, Sensei. I have seen it with my own eyes. You were right about everything. This world...is filled with nothing but mistakes and pain. I'm going to change everything or die trying. _This_...is my coup d'etat."

* * *

**I'm soooooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait! My muse wasn't working with me again! Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait again.**


	4. Purpose

What is our purpose in life? We strive to find that out for ourselves while we exist upon the Earth. Even then, we may never discover it. Why bother trying if it's a fruitless task in the end?

I used to wonder what my place in the world would be. I dreamt big like any kid would. I wanted to be an astronaut one week and the president of the United States the next. I thought that anything was possible. I didn't understand the concept of responsibilities. I couldn't comprehend the severity of losing a parent in a society that freaked over the slightest thing when it concerned children. I didn't realize one wrong move could lead to me being taken away from my mother. I didn't realize that the stigma of being a bastard living with a single mother would dictate my life.

The world is cruel. I recognized that once I was old enough to know that people were assholes. Selfish, greedy fucks that always want more and think the universe revolves around them. To err is human, but forgiveness is not so easily given. People don't forget the past when they've been wronged. That stain is always there. Eventually, it adds up until your soul is as dark as the night.

How long would it be before my soul becomes completely black?

Every day, I lost a little more of myself. Human life no longer had the same hallowed light I used to honor. It becomes easier to dispose of your targets when you realize they're all just sacks of flesh and blood. There's nothing special about any of them. They may look and act different, but inside everyone is exactly the same. We are mortal and that is why everyone eventually dies in the end. It's just a matter of which method you'd like when you finally left this life.

I wondered what Mom would say if she saw the monster I had become? I wouldn't have denied it. Sensei had taught me many things; one of which was that mercy was for the weak. That's why Mom was weak. That's why Dad left her. She was too soft. At least, that's what Sensei told me.

"Why did you leave?" I asked the massive statue before me. "I want to hear it from you."

The harsh pounding of the waterfall was my only answer. I let out a heavy sigh, letting myself fall over on the head of my father. It was probably a reckless move to come here, being so close to Konoha and all. But as soon as I heard about the statues, I knew I had to find them and see them for myself. A small part of me wished the figures could talk. They must have seen much since they were erected almost a century ago. It was through that bit of information from Sensei that I realized that time passed differently between this world and mine. Even if he had survived the fight that created this massive crater, he would have passed away by old age by now.

I didn't even know him, yet it hurt to think about him. All the possible scenarios flew through my mind. How did it feel to leave someone he loved dearly behind, knowing he would probably never see her again? How did he find the courage to abandon everything and pursue a seemingly impossible goal? Did he suffer; slowly dying on the ground, killed by the person he once considered an ally?

Would he have _wanted_ me?

For as long as I could remember, I was jealous of all the kids around me because they had something I didn't. They knew the simple joys of playing baseball and watching _Star Wars_ with their dads. To boys, their fathers were their idols. I didn't have that pleasure, but I desperately wanted it. It was the one person other than my mother that I _needed_. I would ask for a dad every Christmas, but to no avail. It became clear to me as I got older that such a simple wish would never come true until my mother got over her loss and started looking for someone to fill the void in her heart. She never did.

I glared at the other statue, cursing Hashirama Senju for ever existing. He should have been the one to suffer. I stood up, eyes bleeding into red. It was only yesterday when my Sharingan had fully matured after months of training. It was pointless to have it on now, but I felt a little bit closer to my lineage whenever it was activated; just a tad nearer to the father forever out of my reach.

"There you are."

I didn't have to turn around to know that Sensei had appeared behind me using that nifty space-time ninjutsu of his. I could feel his single Sharingan drilling into the back of my head. I had no doubt that he was ready to take me to whoever the "Akatsuki" were. I vaguely remember Marie blathering on about zombies, shark-weasels, and art when it came to those guys. I wasn't looking forward to meeting them based on what little information I did know.

"You are a fool," Tobi snapped at me. "You'd risk revealing yourself to the enemy just for a little sightseeing?"

"I'm taking things into perspective," I told him. "The Valley of the End…it's amazing. I had no idea Madara and Hashirama were _this_ powerful."

"Did I not tell you? They were the strongest shinobi to ever live and no one has ever been able to rival their power since."

"Sensei? I am my father's son. At times like these, I feel like I don't deserve to be. I'll never be worthy of the Uchiha name if I can't even scratch the bare minimum of Madara's strength."

"You'll get there…in time. After all, your true test has yet to come."

I didn't like the sound of that. "Test? So there _was_ a legit reason you drove me into the ground every day?"

"We are on the cusp of war," Tobi answered. "I don't have much time left to continue your training. You must reach the last step now. If you do not, you will not survive the battlefront."

"And the last step is…?"

Before my eyes, a face I had not seen in months appeared through his eyehole. I felt a lump in my throat as Marie hit the ground face first. She looked like she had seen better days. She was so much thinner than before. Her hair was a matted mess and she smelled like she hadn't taken a bath in ages. She painfully lifted her head, her confused eyes lighting up in joy as soon as she saw me.

"Zuzu!" she cried, tears now streaming down her face as she found the strength to fling herself at me. "Oh god, I'm so happy to see you! You're alive!"

I was too much in shock to answer. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my soul. I had forgotten what a hug felt like. It was amazing how hearing the voice of someone you cared about could bring out the best in you when you felt like you were at your lowest. I hadn't felt this happy in so long. I had no qualms about embracing her right there. I didn't want to let her go. If I did, she'd be taken away again.

I spotted disappointment in Sensei's visible eye and it made my gut coil up inside. He forced us apart, throwing Marie to the ground. She winced at the harsh treatment, looking up in fear at the man before her. He turned back to me, thrusting a kunai into my hand.

"Kill her."

We both felt like the world stood still when the words were spoken. The sheer terror in Marie's eyes broke my heart. I had killed before, but I did not personally know those people. This was completely different. This wasn't some stranger. This was someone I considered my sister. This was someone I had willingly killed for. This was someone I was fighting the evils of this world for. I gave up everything I was so I could protect her, not kill her. I couldn't. I _wouldn't_.

"It is a simple order. Do not make me repeat myself."

"I refuse!" I yelled. "Don't make me do this. Not to Marie."

"If it was for the sake of his dream, Madara would have done it in a heartbeat."

"Don't bring him into this. I'm not my father and I probably never will be. Marie is one of the reasons I followed your every order and trained under you. I want to bring peace to this world just as much as you, but she doesn't need to be a sacrifice for that peace! Unlike the Konoha scum, she hasn't done anything wrong!"

He sighed. "Then you leave me no choice. This is for your own good."

It all happened in the span of a few seconds. I saw everything and it was imprinted forever in my mind. I saw Tobi take out another kunai. Marie wasn't even allowed the chance to scream as the blade cut cleanly through her back, piercing through her chest. The slightest dribble of blood was trailing out of her mouth. Red spilled and coated the rock in a thick pool. He quickly retracted the kunai, kicking her off and letting her fall into the lake right next to us. I wished I hadn't looked over the edge to find her body floating like a log, vermilion bleeding into the cool blue surface of the water. I felt myself falling to my knees.

She won't go away. I can hear her voice asking me why. I see her cold eyes on me. I feel her sorrow dig into my soul. The claws are tearing away at me, piece by piece. I can hear the screaming. My heart wants to burst. I can't breathe. Acid is in my eyes. The burning refuses end. The pain doesn't go away. I want it to stop. I want to everything to stop. I want to _die_.

"The final stage has been reached. As the agony washes over you, it awakens a far greater power. The loss of love transforms into a greater hatred and the Uchiha's visual prowess increases substantially."

Please…stop.

"Your visual prowess has advanced as far as it can go. Use it wisely."

STOP.

"Otherwise, the world before you will fade into the oblivion that girl has now joined."

The explosion couldn't be contained. "STOP IT!"

No more. I didn't want to hear anything else. Thankfully he had ceased talking, though the burning in my eyes intensified. It hurt so badly. Something leaked out of my left eye, mixing with the tears that were still falling down my face. The void Marie left was eating away at me. All I was left with was pain and a sudden bout of exhaustion. Was this my punishment for taking so many lives or was it for disobeying orders? I didn't know what to believe. I never felt more lost than at that moment.

I knew this much: whatever I did was futile. If I disobeyed, he'd kill my mother next. If I did obey, he'd order me to kill her simply for his own personal pleasure. I couldn't escape. I had fallen into the abyss and there was no crawling back out.

"Interesting…" Tobi finally said after his odd bout of silence. "That Mangekyou ability…might just be what I've needed all along."

Mangekyou? I didn't know what that was and a part of me refused to ask about it. I couldn't keep myself anchored in reality. The torture was too much. That was the first time I graciously welcomed that peaceful darkness with open arms.

* * *

When I woke up, I wondered if what I was feeling was akin to having a hangover. I felt sick to my stomach and it felt like my last meal wanted out. My head throbbed in rhythm with my pulse and the world was spinning. The only tangible thing I felt was a cool cloth placed on my forehead accompanied by a…pressure?

I blinked my eyes several times, trying to clear the fogginess away. I spotted someone standing over me wearing a black cloak with red splotches on it. Traveling upwards, I saw long hair and feminine features. I saw _her_ face. The crisp memory replayed in my mind and I felt hell descend upon me again.

"GO AWAY!" I yelled as I pushed the woman away.

"YOU ASS!" an angry voice shrieked as I felt a fist slam into my cheek.

I blinked, realizing my vision had cleared up. That was one way to wake someone up. Now that I could see, I observed the person before me. She was a pissed off redhead. A _gorgeous_ pissed off redhead wearing glasses that looked ready to gut me open for my earlier stunt.

"I'm trying to help you, moron!" she snapped. "Try something like that again and I'll kick your—"

"Who are you?" I interrupted. Honestly, that was the first thing I wanted to know. I had never seen her before.

She huffed. "My name is Karin. That swirly-masked freak that Sasuke is working with asked me to stay and look after you. The only reason I'm not going off to help Sasuke—"

"Who's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke Uchiha! International S-ranked criminal? Last survivor of the Uchiha Clan? Are you braindead or what!?"

Okay, I remembered there was a connection between Sasuke and duck butts. Other than that, I didn't really know much else. If he was an Uchiha, didn't that make him my cousin to some extent? Clan relations are weird.

I made a move to stand up, but nausea worked against me and forced me to flop back down on the mattress. I still felt drained, which perplexed me. I didn't do anything strenuous nor did I expend a lot of chakra for anything. I didn't have the chance to think about it when an arm was thrust in front of me, disrupting my thought process. I eyed the many teeth-shaped scars with suspicion. If she let people bite her that much, was this girl some prostitute in disguise?

"Bite down and suck," she ordered.

"Hell no!" I yelled, sincerely grossed out at that point. "Find your pimp Sasuke and get _him_ to find people to do that!"

"EW! How could you even THINK that!?"

"This is a very provocative situation; that's why!"

"Look, ya Sasuke phony—"

"I ain't copying that cunt Sasuke!"

"QUIT INTERRUPTING ME!"

"MAKE ME!"

She shoved her arm into my mouth, forcing me to shut up. "There. Now get those sick images out of your head, bite down, and suck. Your chakra's been heavily depleted. I'm _graciously_ giving you some of mine to replenish it."

This was by far the _strangest_ situation I had ever been forced into. If I rebelled, I had a good feeling I'd be "force fed" in some way. I didn't want to think about what she'd try to do that. Reluctantly, my face turning beet red, I did what she told me. It was a weird sensation. It was like drinking soup, only it was chakra-soup instead of soup-soup. It filled me up, touching my very core with a light and warm feeling. When I pulled away, I felt revitalized. Any trace of exhaustion was gone. Karin covered her arm, still giving me a glower that would send puppies running.

"Alright, it's time for compensation. I wanna know who you are, what your relationship with that masked geek is, what his real plan is, and why you look like Sasuke if you're not trying to copy him."

Well shit. I owed her for helping me. The natural thing to do would be to give her what she wanted, no questions asked. Time to find creative ways to tell the truth.

"My name is Izuna," I began. "The masked guy is my sensei, he wants world peace, and I look like this because I was born this way, baby."

She scowled. "You jerk…"

"It's the truth. You can't hold it against me," I said with a sly smirk.

"I can hold the name 'Marie' against you. You were shouting her name constantly. Poor baby can't live without his girlfriend?"

I cringed at the name. No. It came back again. The memory played once again like a reel. I felt sick as I saw her death once more with the realization that I did nothing to help her. I placed a hand over my eyes, turning to face the wall in order to hide the forming tears from Karin. Taking several deep breaths, I tried to overcome the pain that was building up.

Everything that had happened was my fault. Because I was an Uchiha, I was forced to become a murderer. Because I was Madara's son, Tobi took interest in me. Because I existed, my best friend was dead. If I wasn't careful, my mother could suffer the same fate.

Hands were placed on my shaking shoulders. It was a presence I accepted wholeheartedly. I needed someone there, even if said person hated my guts. Someone to be my anchor in the raging waves of emotion that crashed into me. For a moment, I imagined Marie was the one behind me. She always had my back. She was always there to pick me up with her stupid fascination in Japanese anime and Korean boy band music. I wouldn't have minded if she burst out into song right then. At least she would've been _alive_. But now that support was gone and what was left would send me tumbling down if I lost it.

"**Izuna.**"

I felt chills travel up my spine. I recognized Black Zetsu's voice immediately. I slowly pulled away from the wall, spotting the thing creeping through the floor. He always freaked me out. I liked his White half so much more.

"Zetsu," I greeted. "What do you want? Or were you just using me as an excuse to look at Karin's legs?"

"**Classy,**" it sarcastically derided. "**Tobi wishes to speak with you.**"

"I have nothing to say to him."

"**You don't have a choice in the matter. You wouldn't want anything…**_**unfortunate**_** to happen to the last one, would you?**"

Fuck these guys.

Grudgingly, I grabbed my stuff and stormed out the door. I quickly activated my Sharingan so I could find Tobi in that massive place. I eventually found him sitting at a table, patiently waiting for me. I could feel anger and hatred bubble in my chest. I had to fight the urge to charge at him. He would see it coming a mile away.

"You've recovered. Good," Tobi noted. "That makes things easier for me."

I bristled. "To take what little I have left and destroy my life?"

"I told you that the girl's death was necessary. It is only through tremendous loss that the true power of the Sharingan can be awakened."

"Marie's life was not worth gaining more power!"

"Izuna, do you not remember our plan?"

"Project Tsuki no Me. The Eternal Tsukuyomi that will create a new world for humanity."

"You weren't listening much that day, were you?" Tobi stated, sounding slightly amused. "I'm not surprised. You never do exactly as you're told."

"So what? All I needed to know was that it can bring peace."

"Yes, it can. Hatred and war will cease to exist, but that is not all it can do. I promised you that you would be reunited with your father, did I not?"

"I thought it was an empty promise…"

"The Eternal Tsukuyomi can grant life to the ones lost to us. That ideal life you've always dreamed of will become a reality. Your father, mother, and Marie will be there waiting for you. That perfect world can be made for everyone, but it cannot become a reality if you do not stay focused on the tasks at hand. Do not lose sight of what you are truly fighting for, Izuna."

"Wait. When you say my mother will be waiting with my father and Marie…you don't mean she's…?"

"It was not my doing. She took her own life, but not before cursing your existence once she learned what you were doing. What a horrid mother…"

The void had expanded. The last support crumbled to dust, leaving me to fall down into the depths of hell. I wanted to believe that it was a lie, but Tobi had never lied to me before. He was all about the cold, hard truth. When I realized that, I knew there was no point to my life. The world hated me and the feeling was mutual. Yet, it was in that moment of desperation and hopelessness when I found it. I saw the world for what it was with a stunning clarity I had never experienced before. Naivety had blinded me for so long and it took those terrible losses to make me understand what I had to do.

The answer was in front of me the moment Tobi began my training. I was too much of a fool recognize that he had been trying to help me see the flaws of the world through my own imperfections. I recognized that my flaws all stemmed from one thing: the power of free will. It drove me to do things I would regret. It allowed people to choose to go to war, to dictate that taking human lives was justifiable. Free will was the blight of the earth and it needed to be eliminated in order for peace to reign supreme.

What is my purpose?

I would be the instrument of God and Judgment Day would come for all of humankind. Sensei would be that God; and I, his right hand. It was time for the filth and muck to return to the earth and start anew.

* * *

**I'M NOT DEAD YET!**

**Holy crap, I gotta stop having huge waits between updates! Unfortunately, my muse hopes all over the place and college life gets in the way for the majority of the year. I also blame sheer laziness as well. But hey, at least it wasn't another year. I'm also always trying to improve, so in a way the long waits are a good thing. You get quality chapters (At least I hope they are) for your long waits.**

**So bad things have happened to my precious cupcake, but are things truly as they seem? You'll have to find out next chapter (which hopefully won't be six months from now)!**


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